Sri Lanka v Pakistan in ODIs: A look at the numbers

ODI rankings are at stake when Sri Lanka take on Pakistan in a 5-match ODI series starting on June 7 at Pallekele. Sri Lanka have the opportunity to move ahead of England to occupy the fourth position but for that to happen, they need to clean-sweep Pakistan in the ODI series.

The task is easier said than done because Sri Lanka have a poor record in bilateral ODIs at home against Pakistan. In four series that have been played between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the Island Nation, the home team managed just a single series win while ending up on the losing side three times.

The visitors, who have tasted success multiple times against Sri Lanka in the Island Nation, can also rise up in the rankings. If Pakistan are able to defeat Sri Lanka by a 4-1 margin or better, they will dethrone Mahela Jayawardene's men to move up to the fifth spot in the rankings.

Sri Lanka in bilateral ODIs against Pakistan at home:

Year

Matches

Won

Lost

Tied

NR

Winner

1985/86

3

0

2

0

1

Pakistan

1994

5

1

4

0

0

Pakistan

2005/06

3

0

2

0

1

Pakistan

2009

5

3

2

0

0

Sri Lanka

Considering the three series losses to Pakistan at home, it is no surprise that most of the Sri Lankan batsmen have not fared all that well in those matches. None in the top five list as mentioned below have an average more than fifty, the highest averaging batsman being former skipper Arjuna Ranatunga.

Sri Lankan batsmen in bilateral ODIs against Pakistan at home:

Player

Matches

Innings

Not-outs

Runs

Highest

Average

Strike Rate

100s

50s

Mahela Jayawardene

8

7

0

249

123

35.57

80.06

1

0

Arjuna Ranatunga

8

7

2

249

74*

49.80

76.14

0

2

Sanath Jayasuriya

8

8

0

234

77

29.25

70.69

0

3

Upul Tharanga

8

7

0

225

80

32.14

68.59

0

2

Kumar Sangakkara

8

7

1

153

39

25.50

85.00

0

0

While the Lankan batters haven't been at their best, Pakistani batsmen too haven't had a great time in bilateral ODIs against Sri Lanka at the Emerald Isle. Barring Saleem Malik and Umar Akmal, most of the batsmen average below 40.

Pakistani batsmen in bilateral ODIs against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka:

Player

Matches

Innings

Not-outs

Runs

Highest

Average

Strike Rate

100s

50s

Younis Khan

8

8

0

314

89.00

39.25

66.24

0

2

Saleem Malik

8

5

2

224

93*

74.66

71.56

0

3

Umar Akmal

4

4

1

192

102*

64.00

110.34

1

1

Mohammad Yousuf

6

6

0

178

53.00

29.66

62.23

0

1

Inzamam-ul-Haq

8

8

1

172

53*

24.57

57.71

0

1

In comparison to the batsmen, the Lankan bowlers have done a slightly better job although they do not have much to speak for in terms of wickets. Muralitharan has picked up the maximum number of wickets while Nuwan Kulasekara is the only one from the current squad to feature in the top five.

Sri Lankan bowlers in bilateral ODIs against Pakistan at home:

Player

Matches

Innings

Wickets

BBI

Ave

Econ

SR

4-wkt haul

5-wkt haul

Muttiah Muralitharan

9

9

11

3/58

34.00

4.56

44.7

0

0

Ruwan Kalpage

5

5

9

4/36

21.66

3.97

32.6

1

0

Thilan Thushara

4

4

9

3/29

20.22

4.91

24.6

0

0

Nuwan Kulasekara

5

5

8

3/46

26.25

4.70

33.5

0

0

Sanath Jayasuriya

8

8

7

2/28

33.42

4.41

45.4

0

0

The Pakistan bowlers have no doubt been better than their Lankan counterparts with three of the top five having taken 10 or more wickets. While the likes of Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal haven't been all that successful, Pakistan have their second most successful bowler in Sri Lanka in the form of Shahid Afridi.

Pakistani bowlers in bilateral ODIs against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka:

Player

Matches

Innings

Wickets

BBI

Ave

Econ

SR

4-wkt haul

5-wkt haul

Wasim Akram

8

7

12

4/28

17.75

3.48

30.5

1

0

Shahid Afridi

8

7

11

3/37

23.18

4.52

30.7

0

0

Naved-ul-Hasan

6

5

10

4/44

19.40

5.38

21.6

1

0

Mohammad Amir

5

5

9

4/28

20.33

4.23

28.7

1

0

Waqar Younis

5

5

8

3/33

25.75

4.57

33.7

0

0

There are certain players from both sides who are on verge of achieving major milestones.

Upcoming milestones:

4: Ajantha Mendis is 4 wickets away from 100 scalps in One Day Internationals. His 96 wickets have come in 59 ODIs and in all likelihood, he will become the fastest Sri Lankan to 100 ODI wickets. Lasith Malinga (68 games) currently holds the record.

57: Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara are 57 runs short of registering 5000 runs in partnership in ODIs. They will become only the fourth pair in the history of ODIs to aggregate more than 5000 runs in partnership.

4: Saeed Ajmal is 4 short of reaching the mark of 100 ODI wickets. In case he picks up a four wicket haul in the first ODI against Sri Lanka, he will jointly share the fourth spot for the fastest Pakistani to 100 wickets.

186: Younis Khan is 186 short of achieving the landmark of 7000 runs in ODIs. If he does achieve it in this series, he'll become the seventh Pakistani batsman to do so.